The design industry is yet another area where AI is making huge strides. Just recently, an AI tool pulled from a database of dozens of patterns and colours to create 7 million unique packaging designs for Nutella.

Let’s take a closer look at how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of design.

AI builds website graphics

In addition to generating its own designs–as it did for Nutella–AI is the driving force behind modern web design. Artificial design intelligence (ADI) systems are democratising website development, generating functional, attractive websites from the bottom up.

Wix and Bookmark both offer AI platforms that allow websites to intelligently design themselves; the customer is responsible for choosing the site’s name and answering a few quick questions, but AI will do the rest. Designers and developers no longer need to build websites completely from scratch, and they can create attractive sites regardless of their level of experience with web building or design.

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AI shapes brand image

In addition to designing the face of web pages, AI builds the image of a brand. Artificial intelligence tools like Tailor Brands can gather data from around the web to design customised logos in seconds, requiring from the user nothing but their business’s name and a quick description of their company or industry. In this sense, AI has made brand design more accessible for emerging entrepreneurs with small budgets and little to no design experience.

AI designs with efficiency and speed

Designers working with AI can create designs faster and more cheaply. Artificial intelligence tools can analyse vast amounts of data within minutes and suggest designs accordingly. Airbnb is already taking advantage of this function, feeding wireframe sketches to AI machines which, in turn, can generate complete images. This capability can be used to create several different prototype designs that can then be A/B tested with users.

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AI automates tedious tasks

AI saves designers time by automating mundane tasks, allowing designers to instead focus on higher-level work. Rather than designing banners and product labels in multiple languages, for instance, designers can outsource the work to AI. The designers, in turn, can approve or reject the suggested graphics, saving them enormous amounts of time.

AI builds 3D graphics

Artificial intelligence not only designs two-dimensional graphics like web pages and branding materials, but it also builds three-dimensional graphics. AI is being used to build three-dimensional architectural models, facilitating the work of architects by enabling them to create a detailed, lifelike blueprint of their building plan. AI is also being used to build worlds for virtual reality, artificial reality, and mixed reality. Artificial intelligence tools not only design the graphics for these worlds, but they also react intelligently to user interaction and behaviour.

What is the future of designers?

Some people worry that, with the advanced design capabilities of artificial intelligence, AI will eventually replace human designers altogether. The reality, however, is that AI will play a more complex and nuanced role in design. Artificial intelligence tools will facilitate the work of human designers while remaining a tool–and not a replacement—for human designers.

Think about it: standard machines don’t replace workers altogether but, instead, automate basic tasks and help workers operate more efficiently. Artificial intelligence programs will operate the same way, automating mundane tasks and even making original suggestions while still requiring a human designer to oversee the process and make the most important decisions.

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So while AI isn’t going to replace designers, it is going to replace something else: traditional methods of doing business. AI is changing the way people lead, manage, and make decisions.

In the world of design, this means using market data to make informed hypotheses about which designs work best for business. AI platforms can analyse which colours, shapes, typefaces, and other visuals perform best across different industries. That way, rather than coming up with a design based on limited research and intuition, human designers can use artificial intelligence tools to make design choices based on real, hard data.

Conclusion

In the next few years, designers will increasingly harness the power of artificial intelligence to inform their design decisions. AI tools won’t replace designers but, on the contrary, will facilitate designers’ work so they can focus on bigger picture tasks. Artificial intelligence is already strong across the design industry, generating graphics for websites, brands, virtual reality and more. As AI becomes stronger, it won’t just show us what we already know; it’ll also present us with novel ideas and open new avenues for thought.

Written by Tailor Brands, an automated, AI-powered logo design and branding platform.